bdnews24.com editor-in-chief calls for healthy competition among media

Editor-in-Chief of bdnews24.com Toufique Imrose Khalidi has stated that the media should point out one another’s shortcomings.

He made the observation during a programme in which he received the “Gunijan” award, given by online news portal bbarta24.net for his outstanding contribution to journalism, at the auditorium of the Public Library at Shahbagh on Wednesday.

Four other persons were also honoured at the programme in recognition of their outstanding contributions to their respective fields.

Birangana Rama Chowdhury received the award for her contribution to the Liberation War, Freedom fighter and film actor Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooq for culture, PMO’s a2i Project Director Kabir Bin Anwar for ICT and Bangladesh's one-day international captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for cricket.

Mashrafe, however, was not present to receive the award.

In his speech Toufique Imrose Khalidi called for healthy competition among media to enhance their overall growth. 

“We want healthy competition. Everyone will benefit and grow from such competition…. There will also be collaboration at times when our freedom of speech comes under attack,” he said.

He said pointing out one another’s shortcomings is one of the main concerns of the media.

In this context he cited that the San Francisco-based Society of Professional Journalists in its guidelines, prepared by eminent journalists, emphasised the importance of media highlighting the shortcomings of one another. 

But he regretted that the same practice in Bangladesh is often criticised as the manifestation of “personal vendetta.”

Khalidi further stated that the media should not consider itself to be above criticism.

He also expressed concern over the lack of adequate number of honest, educated and dedicated journalists despite proliferation of media in the country. 

In this regard Toufique Imrose Khalidi said due to the expansion of media, including television channels, the government has been unable to keep a tab on them.

In such a scenario it is difficult for the media to maintain quality, he opined.

‘Journalists can’t do whatever they want’

At the programme, Toufique Imrose Khalidi underscored the growth of the Internet in the country, pointing out that at present over 50 million people are using the net.

He said if only 10 to 20 percent of them read the news online, the number of readers would be five to 10 million.

“According to Google bdnews24.com alone has 9 to 10 million unique visitors. This means we have been able to reach a very large number of people,” he said.

Stating that more people these days get news from the Internet rather than from print media or television channels, he said, “We need to be responsible. We can’t do whatever we want.”

Making a strong pitch for freedom of speech, he said everyone has the right to have an opinion.

“I can always express my views. I am entitled to my opinion. One may differ with me, but that does not give him the right to vilify me,” he added.

“In Bangladesh whenever we consider someone an opponent we vehemently attack him. This should change,” he emphasised.

In this regard, he said online news portals should take the lead in creating awareness as they have much bigger reach than the print media.

Even in terms of quality, he said, internet based news publishing industries were ahead of so called traditional media.

“We should maintain this. We have to be responsible,” he added.

bdnews24.com’s editor-in-chief also called upon bloggers to be more careful and responsible while sharing information through their blogs.

He said while criticising somebody one should be objective and factually correct or else it would not only damage the reputation of the person, but also his family.

‘Accountability’

“When I talk about responsibility, many think I am referring to government control. I never advocate government control.

“Control and regulation have two different meanings. We all have to have some regulations. We all have to abide by the law,” Khalidi said.  

He also stated that “regulatory culture” in Bangladesh was very poor and often people were not aware of it.

He advised the media to use its freedom in a responsible manner.

“Taking advantage of media freedom, we should not do anything that will give government an opportunity to impose certain restrictions. We should never give them that chance,” he suggested.  

While talking about media freedom, he also dwelt on funding, stating that whoever invests in this sector should not have a skeleton in their cupboard.

Khalidi also insisted that media in Bangladesh should “enjoy absolute freedom.”